Hatchery Practices

[ForFlocksSake]

I'm brand new at raising chickens and I tend to dive headfirst into new interests and try to learn as much as I can as fast as possible. Researching different breeds has been a big part of my excitement in this new hobby, which of course brings me to playing on different hatchery websites. As Im looking at this sites and thinking about the feed stores I bought my own chicks from I got to thinking how HUGE of a manufacturing process it must be creating and sexing all these chicks. I began asking myself questions about the practices behind breeding, hatching and caring for the animals within the hatcheries. Particularly Mom and Dad.

I came across this post from back in May that @BastyPutt started discussing the fate of male chicks in hatcheries https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...hicks-where-do-they-go.1580189/#post-26844623 and it made me question even more.

Let me pause here. Like @BastyPutt states in their post, I am far from a PETA warrior too - I am a hunter, an angler, and now a chicken keeper. I will raise my chickens for eggs and give them wonderful lives until they have reached a peak laying age. We will then humanely cull and eat the slow producers. Cockerels will also be given a wonderful life until they are large enough to crow and then will also become food for our family. I believe in the importance of knowing where your food comes from. I prefer to eat the meat we get ourselves, but still shop at the grocery store for 90% of our food. I've seen the chicken trucks transporting meat birds many times on the highway and it's heartbreaking, but I still contribute to the problem by purchsing birds at the store. This post is simply a way to understand and explore how hatcheries are run and how others view those practices.

Ok back to the hatchery part. What is the process? How do they keep the hens and roosters who produce those hatching eggs? is it as questionable as the egg industry itself? Are they regulated somehow? Is it possible the parents are treated like a puppy mill situation? Are there more reputable places? Places to avoid?

 

[NatJ]

Ok back to the hatchery part. What is the process? How do they keep the hens and roosters who produce those hatching eggs?

Cackle Hatchery has some videos showing their breeder flocks for various breeds.
Just go to a breed page, and look for "videos." It's one choice in a list (below "Breed Facts" and "Availability" and some other things.) Not every breed has a video of a breeder flock, but many do.

Some of the rarer breeds (smaller breeder flock) are obviously in pens next to other breeds. Example: https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/buff-cochin-standard-chicks/

Some of the more common breeds (larger breeder flock) look like they have an entire building for just one breed.
Example: https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/barred-rocks/

I would expect many hatcheries to house their breeder flocks similar to the way Cackle shows. The roosters need to be able to mate with the hens (so no tiny single-sex cages), and they need to have enough space to stay in good health without picking each other to death. But making it look pretty or attractive is probably not a big priority, as long as it provides the right conditions to keep the chickens producing fertile eggs that hatch into healthy chicks. (If the eggs do not hatch there are no chicks to sell. If the chicks are not reasonably healthy, there will be no repeat customers. So the hatchery does need healthy chicks if they want to stay in business very long.)

 

[TenTimes]

All hatcheries have different practices. Cackle has one of the best. But all hatcheries are guilty of trusting the USPS to safely deliver the birds alive. If you order 10 chicks from a hatchery, some will send 12 or 13, because they expect some to die and would rather send extras (to die) so they don't have to give a refund.

 

[ForFlocksSake]

Cackle Hatchery has some videos showing their breeder flocks for various breeds.
Just go to a breed page, and look for "videos." It's one choice in a list (below "Breed Facts" and "Availability" and some other things.) Not every breed has a video of a breeder flock, but many do.

Some of the rarer breeds (smaller breeder flock) are obviously in pens next to other breeds. Example: https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/buff-cochin-standard-chicks/

Some of the more common breeds (larger breeder flock) look like they have an entire building for just one breed.
Example: https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/barred-rocks/

I would expect many hatcheries to house their breeder flocks similar to the way Cackle shows. The roosters need to be able to mate with the hens (so no tiny single-sex cages), and they need to have enough space to stay in good health without picking each other to death. But making it look pretty or attractive is probably not a big priority, as long as it provides the right conditions to keep the chickens producing fertile eggs that hatch into healthy chicks. (If the eggs do not hatch there are no chicks to sell. If the chicks are not reasonably healthy, there will be no repeat customers. So the hatchery does need healthy chicks if they want to stay in business very long.)

I didn’t realize they had videos. I’ll have to go back and look. Cackle was on my list of possible purchases. Thanks!